Don't Fall Apart
by 0Blue-Bird0
Summary: A reaction fic to chapter 266. Komatsu is now safely back in the Human World, but he's still having a rough time, and the one person that he needs him the most just isn't there for him. But Sunny is. Slight Sunny/Komatsu with spoilers for chapter 266. While the fic isn't quite romantic, it does have those sorts of undertones.


Hey everyone~ This is the first fanfic that I've completed in almost a year I think but I'm really proud of it. It's a nice start. It's unbeta'd so I apologize for any mistakes that I missed when editing this (although please understand that some things, like my use of fragmented sentences and semi colons and dashes are my personal style rather than mistakes- although I am annoyed that not all of the dashes look the same. unfortunately this site doesn't format it to give you those nice solid dashes like my computer does)

So anyway, for anyone still behind the current manga, there was a timeskip (it's all in the summary anyway) but this story'll contain spoilers for the timeskip. It will also contain a complete disregard for the canon (especially chapter 266 was STUPID- coming from someone who actually _likes_ Rin- and felt more like a huge 'no homo' than anything else) but I will try my best to avoid any OOC in the story. So, anyways, this will be a Sunny/Komatsu-centric fic but not explicitly romantic or anything (but with hints of it).

The story itself is inspired by Dreaming of Everything's reaction fic to chapter 264 called Nightmares._ It is not, and will not be posted on so please don't bother her about it._ You can read it on AO3 instead. Anyway, it's a fabulous fic with a protective!Coco and a much kinder attitude towards Toriko (the character) than mine. I'd definitely recommending it! (maybe you should just read the both of them together)

Anyways, please enjoy and have a nice, safe valentine's day~

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Rebuilding the Human World was an incredibly slow process; even_ with_ the influx of food from the Gourmet World. It had been too heavily damaged, and they'd been living off of synthesized food for too long. It was apparent in the glassy and pained eyes of the people that Midora's famine had left an incredible mark on them all—and it was obvious that the human world would never regain the sort of elegance and good will that the Gourmet Age had produced; but perhaps that had been, in some ways, for the best.

As it had been, the Gourmet Age had also been a gilded cage of sorts. One where all of the corruption had only come to the surface when all of the food had disappeared. Where there had once been an overflowing of good will and an excess of food, was now only ill will and desperation. People had turned on friends and loved ones for the promise of _real_ food, and virtually nowhere had been safe. Prior to this, IGO had tried to regulate as best as they could, but afterwards it had been almost useless. So just maybe rebuilding was a good thing-if they did that they they could build up an even stronger new age.

As things were, Komatsu had his hands full delivering food to some of the countries most heavily affected. He'd been sent from facility to facility in the past two weeks since he'd been back-alternating between making meals and lending a hand to other chefs. Even though a number of them had been abducted by the Bishokukai, he hadn't known just _how_ severely depleted the human world had been of its chefs. With many of the world's top chefs in the Gourmet World, and the remaining best struggling to work with a rapidly dwindling food supply, things had gotten extremely hard. When they had finally reached a point of no return and there had been no more food for the chefs to cook, IGO had had to switch to synthesized foodstuff.

Just a few days earlier he had seen Nono and he'd been taken aback by the change in her. She had looked like she'd aged more than just a year and a half and there had seemed to be a sort of weight on her shoulders—one that was explained later when she had explained to him that Setsuno-san had disappeared about a half a year ago. Nono had no idea when, or if she'd ever be back, and she had struggled to fill in the foot steps that her mentor had left behind. She had been able to tell him about some of the other chefs that he knew—like how Buranchi had made several trips back and forth from the Gourmet World with food to help them—but the sad fact was, without food to prepare for people, many of them had lost their drives and either faded from the public eye, or disappeared completely.

And it pained Komatsu to hear this. He knew that his being there wouldn't have made a difference, but in the year he'd spent out of the clutches of the Bishokukai he wished that he'd been able to do _something_.

As it was, this also seemed to be the extent of what he could do. He stood in a small and slightly run down kitchen with a few older chefs, preparing simple meals that would be packaged and distributed out to the people. He'd learned a lot of things about cooking from both the Bishokukai and his time in the Gourmet World, and so the efficiency of his cooking had risen exponentially. He could have ran the kitchen entire on his own, but having the other chefs with him was too much of a comfort to even think of trying. He cut through several pieces of fruit at once with his Melk knife and swiftly collected all of the juices so that they could later be blending into drinks, and the drinks could be packaged up as well. The remains of the fruits were sliced and used as salads and sides.

His mind ran on autopilot as the light feeling that he got from cooking for others filled his chest again. The last time he'd felt it had been with…Midora maybe? Over a year ago.

The thought of Midora slowed Komatsu's hands slightly. He was a terrible man, without a doubt, and he had caused terrible suffering for the entire human world and that was certainly something that couldn't be forgiven; and yet Komatsu couldn't think entirely negative thoughts about him. The smile Midora had shown after he had tasted his cooking lingered in Komatsu's mind-the pure bliss had looked shocking on Midora.

Cooking for him hadn't been a negative experience either—thinking back on it, he had cooked more for Midora in those 6 months than he had for Toriko in the past year. As a person Komatsu found him entirely unforgivable, but as a customer he was almost unforgettable.

Komatsu packed several of the meals at once, and tried to let his positive feelings soak into the food. Even if a single meal wouldn't be enough to erase the unpleasant experiences of the past year, it would be a start.

After he finished each box, one of the attendants would take them away to an IGO truck parked outside of the kitchen and then they'd be sent off to those who needed them the most at the moment. Komatsu, along with the older chefs helping him, could get from 100 to 150 of those boxes out every hour, depending on the flow of the foodstuff into the kitchen. At the pace that they were working, they could go for another few hours without a break. It was almost like, he thought with a bit of longing, working a tough shift at the Hotel Gourmet; especially back when he had first gotten promoted as the head chef—there had been nights where he had worked so hard that he thought that he'd die!

Even though it hadn't been that long ago, working in the kitchen of the Hotel Gourmet still felt like a distant memory. Komatsu absentmindedly mopped at the sweat on his brow with the bottom of his chef's apron and continued to work hard. As he worked, the sun fell outside and it got darker and darker.

It was only when the ingredients stopped coming that Komatsu realized how late it must have been. He glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was nearing 2 am. He didn't even remember when he'd started working yesterday. He looked back to see the chefs he'd been working with finishing up the last of their meals as well.

"Oh," he said quickly, already making his way back to their stations. "let me help you with that—"

One of them cut him off by holding up a hand. "No need Chef Komatsu." He muttered from behind his giant bristly mustache. "We can finish this much on our own."

The chef at the station next to his laughed a dry, wheezy laugh. "Don't underestimate us youngster." He nodded his head a few times. "We'll be fine with this amount." There were a few stray nods from the others around them. Komatsu paused then quickly nodded.

"Alright." he bowed at the waist. "Thank you everyone for your help!" There were a few chuckles at his over zealousness and Komatsu didn't stop smiling until he had reached the door. After closing it behind him, he took a deep breath, leaned his head back against the door, and his shoulders finally sagged.

He wasn't exactly tired. Given the chance he could have worked for a lot longer-especially if it was to feed people who desperately needed that food-but right now he felt... drained maybe?

He dragged himself up and started walking through the halls of the building; most of the people who'd been in the building earlier were gone, and the only people he saw were the night guards. It was quiet and his footsteps echoed.

Alone from everyone else he was able to… relax? No, that wasn't quite the right word. Unwind was probably better.

The past year and a half had been terrible on him. From the fiasco that was the Cooking Fest, to the terror that he'd felt when he'd seen Toriko defeated by Starjun and hadn't even known if he'd be able to help his partner survive his injuries. Seeing Ootake and knowing that his friend was still ok had alleviated some of his terror, and being in Midora's good graces so early on had saved him from a lot of harassment at the hands of frustrated Bishokukai grunts. At the same time he had been worried—so terribly worried—about everyone; about Toriko, and Coco, and Sunny, and Zebra, and Rin, and about the chefs left behind in the Human World—and about Ume-chan, and Melk and his manager, and Yun, and—

The list went on and there were many nights where he'd been plagued with worry and nightmares about what could have possibly happened to them.

So when he'd seen Toriko again, he'd thought that his heart would burst from the happiness. He'd been overwhelmed with the desire to go back to the human world and see the people he'd missed that he had almost not understood when Toriko had told him that they weren't going home—that they'd instead stay and collect food from the Gourmet World to bring back to the Human World. Even now the conversation was foggy in his mind—he'd been focusing on trying to hide his extreme disappointment; and Toriko had probably seen that, but in the end his decision hadn't changed and they'd been stuck in the Gourmet World for a lot longer than he would have liked.

Komatsu paused and looked up when he realized that he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going. The exit was where again? He glanced around and back tracked through a few hallways. Sunny had told him that he'd be waiting for him after he got done cooking, so it would be rude of him to keep Sunny waiting like this. He smiled a little when he thought of what Sunny's reaction would be if he told him that he'd gotten lost in the small building. It wasn't like there was really any place to go inside of it.

But his smile drooped slowly after that. He enjoyed being here with Sunny-he really did-but it was just another reminder of who _wasn't_ here with him. Even in the few weeks since he'd been back, he'd seen Toriko maybe 2 or 3 times.

Toriko had been…strange for the past year. It was hard to voice exactly how at times, but he felt a weird sort of distance between them—like a rift had opened up somewhere between him being kidnapped and Toriko rescuing him again. In the beginning he'd tried to tell himself how ridiculous the idea was (because he was Toriko's _partner, of course _he was overreacting), but as the months had gone by Toriko had gotten physically distant too. As opposed to all of those other times on their previous food trips where Komatsu could always count on Toriko to _at the very least_ stay near him, Toriko would go off for days or weeks at a time. Maybe it was due to the type of tree that Toriko had carved out for them that monsters never came _too_ close, but seeing each monster walk, or crawl, or fly past was always more terrifying than the last.

And without knowing when Toriko would come back, his stress and nightmares had increased—although now his nightmares were wrought with giant Gourmet World monsters too. He began sleeping less, and became more used to just preparing meals just for himself. Compared to Toriko-san, he never ate as much, and some days would slip by when he'd realize that he hadn't cooked or eaten a single thing.

And it wasn't as if he could have gone outside either. With dangerous ingredients and monsters everywhere, he had not been able to go outside at all. He'd been cooped up there for the past year with little else to do but fret.

Also… Toriko had stopped listening to him as well, it seemed. Between the periods that Toriko was there with him, and when he was gone, Komatsu never felt quite like Toriko was hearing him out. Rather, it felt more like he was talking to himself more often than not.

Even though Toriko had never been the best listener, he'd _definitely_ been more receptive during the Cooking Fest; so the new change was incredibly jarring.

But, in the end he hadn't said anything._ He hadn't been able to say anything_, and these feelings had bottled up inside of him, along with everything else. And now they weighted down on him constantly. Even back in the human world he couldn't relax. There were too many people who expected too much of him for him to break down now; as long as he could still cook, he couldn't forgive himself for slacking off while there was still work to be done.

"Have a nice night chef Komatsu!" the guard at the exit door shouted and Komatsu jumped in surprise. He was caught off guard but he managed a smile anyway.

"Ahh- thank you. Umm, please be careful as well." He said, meaning every word. There was still so much chaos in the human world that kitchens like this would often be attacked by people looking for scraps of food. And although Komatsu knew that the chaos would not end for a while he still hoped that the new availability of food would change that. The guard nodded and Komatsu started walking.

Now that he was no longer by himself he didn't dwell on his previous thoughts. He fixed his posture and the smile on his face and called out, "Sunny-san? Sunny-san?" he called out. It was dark outside and the kitchen had been surrounded by a thick grove of bare trees. Actually, he had no idea where Sunny was-

"Geez, it took you long enough Matsu." Sunny's musically voice floated through the air and Komatsu noticed Sunny strolling up to him. But despite his words, there was a small smile on his face.

"Ahh, sorry about that." Komatsu rubbed the back of his head and laughed weakly. "I got a little lost." Sunny snorted and gave him a 'really?' look before huffing.

"Well, anyway, let's get back to our _lodging_."

Komatsu couldn't help but laugh at Sunny's lackluster tone when he said that. Even though he doubted that Sunny had been as stuffy about his beauty standards in the past year and a half, still hearing the distaste in his voice was enough to give Komatsu a warm feeling. At least Sunny had stayed the same. "Alright!" He said, and Sunny gave him another not to subtle glance before walking off with Komatsu close behind.

The place that IGO had set up for them was close to the restaurant and a bit run down as well. The building was maybe three stories tall, and during the day, IGO workers slept there. Their room was on the top floor.

Sunny walked through the doorway and lifted Komatsu over a hole in the floor with his feelers. He'd complained the whole way there, but now that they were actually in the makeshift hotel, he didn't say a word. It seemed that Sunny-san understood the plights that the people had gone through—no matter what he said to the contrary. Once they were through the threshold of their room Sunny went into to bathroom to change and Komatsu was left alone with his thoughts. He expected to be up early again tomorrow, so it would be best for him to try and sleep as quickly as possible. The mattress was coarse against his cheek and the sheets were thin, but it was still comfortable enough to sleep on. Maybe the close proximity to someone else made everything feel better, but either way Komatsu was pretty content.

He closed his eyes, and was starting to drift off when he felt something light brush against his face. He wrinkled his nose slightly before his eyes open a little. He couldn't stop himself from jumping when he saw Sunny's face above him. He hadn't even heard Sunny return from the bathroom, much less approach his bed. He sat on the very edge, with his upper body hanging over Komatsu and his hair falling down around his face. Some of it had already curled around Komatsu's hands and fingers and few stray pieces brushed his face. Sunny-san looked…

It was hard to place his expression. Angry maybe? But not really. It looked like he was thinking about something, but also annoyed?

"Yer skin looks terrible Matsu." He said bluntly, and Komatsu smiled nervously at him.

"Ahh—well I couldn't really take care of it in the Gourmet World unfortunately…" he trailed off when Sunny's long fingers brushed his face. They traced from his hairline to the corner of his eye before trailing down the rest of his face. They stopped briefly right between his chin and bottom lip as Komatsu found himself wondering just what Sunny was doing. He felt his cheeks burn a little under the scrutiny until Sunny finally sighed and looked away.

Komatsu slowly sat up and inched closer to him. "Sunny-san?" he asked. Now, Sunny looked less pensive and more annoyed.

"Hey Matsu," Sunny finally asked and Komatsu immediately perked up.

"Yes?" Sunny turned back around to look at him.

"When's the last time that you slept?" he asked, and Komatsu could better utter the 'what?'. He distantly heard Sunny talk about the circles around his eyes and the sagginess of his skin, but the only thing he could think of was the futility of trying to hide something from one of the most observant men in the world. Or rather, Toriko had never commented on it, if he'd noticed it, so somewhere along the line he hadn't expected any of the others to either.

"Ummm," he stuttered when it became clear that Sunny wouldn't take anything less than a real answer. "Well, it's been a few weeks since I've had a full night of sleep." He had to avert his eyes. "I, well, I ended up having some nightmares, so sleeping's been a little difficult." He tried laughing at the end to play the nightmares off as being not as bad as they sounded, but Sunny wasn't buying it.

"Nightmares? For how long Matsu?" he asked. Komatsu was a little quieter this time.

"Since the beginning I think?"

"When?"

"…since I got kidnapped." Komatsu finally admitted—actually they'd started a few days after he'd woken up in the Bishokukai headquarters, but at the time he'd had Ootake to confide in. "But they weren't as bad in the beginning!" he said quickly, trying to reassure Sunny before he realized what he was saying. Then he tried to backtrack even further. "I mean they're not bad now! Well—"he nervously scratched at his head, "they're not something that I can't handle." His voice got quieter as he went.

Sunny say staring him down and Komatsu found that he couldn't look at him for too long. Sunny was always so direct and blunt that it was sometimes as hard to face him head on as it was to face Zebra. "Really?" Sunny finally asked and Komatsu nodded quickly.

"Really, Sunny-san," he said quietly, "you don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine." He said with a smile—one that wasn't as honest as he meant it to be. Yes, he'd sort out these nightmares and figure out everything out later, but he couldn't afford to do that right now. He had to do his best to help the human world. No matter what. He could sort out his feelings later.

Sunny huffed and looked away. "Of course I'd worry about you Matsu!" he muttered. "After all, I—" Sunny looked like he was about to say something, but he quickly switched gears. "Anyway, how did Toriko help you with those nightmares?" He sounded a little embarrassed when he asked.

Komatsu paused. Like always, he trusted Sunny inexplicably, but this was a topic that he had hoped dearly to avoid because he had tried to avoid it so much himself. He didn't notice his own smile disappearing.

Like he feared, Sunny read through his hesitation immediately, and he narrowed his eyes. "Hey Matsu, Toriko _did _help ya, _didn' he?_" The last two words dropped _dangerously_ and Komatsu knew that if he was with Zebra, then that would have been a warning that something was about to explode. _Thank Acacia_ he wasn't having this conversation with Zebra. However, in some ways Sunny was just as volatile as Zebra; now seemed to be one of those cases.

"Well—toriko-san he…" he trailed off' not knowing what to add to that. What could he say that wouldn't make Sunny even angrier? "He was busy—" Komatsu tried and Sunny suddenly stood up in one fluid motion-it was oddly reminiscent of Quinn.

"_Busy?"_ Komatsu swallowed when he realized that he'd made a mistake. He _probably _could have found a better way to say that.

"It was for the human world." He said quickly. "Toriko-san was always out collecting food for the human world!" he told Sunny quickly, desperately. He didn't know if he was so desperate because he didn't want Sunny to be angry, or because he'd told himself the same thing so many times before. He'd spent _so many_ nights just curled up on his side, trying to erase the images of lifeless friends out of his mind. 'Toriko-san's away because he needs to be; because what he's doing is helping people'; He'd repeat it like a mantra in between his muffled cries and racing heartbeat. To ask him to stay with him for the night—to just stay _longer_ would have been wrong. To weigh his own needs against everyone else's would have been…selfish.

"For the—" Sunny's eyebrows drew together in almost a line. "Don't give me that Matsu!" he snapped, and when Komatsu recoiled from the anger in his voice he immediately quieted down. He was angry—livid—but taking it out on Komatsu when there was an even bigger bonehead at fault was bad of him. "You're his _partner_ Matsu. He should have put _you_ first." Sunny muttered, suddenly averting Komatsu's eyes. "The human world survived for a year and a half like this. It could have survived for a little longer." The sound of sniffling met his ears and Sunny snapped his head back around—fast enough that anyone else would have gotten whiplash—and saw Komatsu sitting there on the bed with giant tears welling up in his eyes. He quickly bent down to Komatsu's level but looked at a loss of what to do. He immediately began gentling dabbling at the corners of Komatsu's eyes with his elegant night shirt sleeve, and the un-Sunny-ness of the gesture made Komatsu want to laugh a little. What came out instead was—

"I wanted him there." Komatsu said in a quiet voice. He sniffed before a whine broke out anyway. "I wanted him there _so badly._" He started scrubbing at his eyes as breathing became harder and his breath came quicker. "Bu-but he," Komatsu's voice started getting nasally, "he _wouldn't listen._" Komatsu grabbed the fabric of Sunny's shirt and he met Sunny's stunned gaze.

"_Toriko-san stopped listening to me."_ Komatsu managed to squeak out. His chest constricted as he finally acknowledged the trust himself. He had _wanted_ to see Toriko again, and he'd been _happy_, but now something was wrong. Oh so wrong. The Toriko who'd encouraged him at the cooking Fest, and told him that he wouldn't lose to anyone—not even Zaus or Setsuno—for some reason wasn't there anymore. Somewhere, without him even being aware of it, their relationship had changed—it was closer to how it was then they had first met. For all of the experiences they had shared and trust they had gained, now it felt like Toriko was drawing back again.

Even earlier, when Toriko had agreed to marry Rin, it had felt like he'd been struck by lightning. Without even a glance at him, or any kind of deliberation, Toriko'd just agreed.

Even though he and Toriko-san weren't like _that,_ it had been such a shock to his system; the way that Toriko had brushed off their partnership when Sunny had confronted him about it hurt even more. It had hurt so much.

He still remembered when Toriko had asked him to form a combo. He'd been so happy. _So happy._

But now it seemed as if he didn't mean the same thing to Toriko as he'd meant back then—and that hurt more than anything else. He'd gone from the partner that Toriko would do anything to protect to_ 'just'_ his partner.

The thought constricted his throat and air suddenly felt very scarce. Even as he continued to cry, Komatsu found himself wheezing and coughing.

In a sudden flurry of movement he found himself suddenly pressed to the expensive fabric of Sunny's night clothes. "You have to breathe properly Matsu." Sunny said from above his head. For a few moments, being so close to him was suffocating and Komatsu balled his fists up against Sunny's chest in order to—what? Push him away? He had no idea what he was thinking and everything seemed to be going in circles.

It was like being trapped in a nightmare; but he was awake—he couldn't escape this by simply 'waking up'. He wanted to go. He wanted to get out of this room right now. He wa—he _needed_ fresh air.

He needed Toriko.

He balled his fists up in Sunny's shirt and managed a quiet, "Sunny-san—outside. Please." Even without super hearing, Sunny heard his small, broken voice, and Komatsu felt a little jostle as Sunny stood up while holding him. With his head against Sunny's collar bone, he couldn't tell what was happening; but Sunny must have gone through a window because they were outside much faster than they should have been.

One minute Sunny's shirt obscured his vision, and the next minute he had a clear view of the hundreds of stars above in the night sky and he felt the ground beneath his head. The view was at once overwhelming and grounding. The chilly air shocked his system and he forced himself to take a few breaths of cold air. Slowly, so slowly, his breathing returned to normal. For a few minutes, he just laid back and stared up at the stars. They were pretty—so pretty, and he hadn't been able to see them in the Gourmet World. At least, not like this.

A few more minutes passed in silence before Komatsu whispered, "Sunny-san?" Sunny, who had been out of Komatsu's line of sight for a while now, loomed over his again—looking more watchful than normal. Komatsu sighed and turned his head to the side so that it was pressed to Sunny's knee. He was scared. He was still scared, but he had forgotten how _comforting_ just having someone near could be. "The Gourmet World was scary." He said quietly, as if he was telling a story. Sunny stayed silent. "Being with the Bishokukai was bad too, but at least I had other chefs to talk to. I was so…alone." He curled up on his side, still facing Sunny. Finally he sat up. "I-I thought that if I told Toriko that, that it would just bother him. We—" he teared up a little again, but he easily wiped these tears off. "we made a promise a long while ago that when we went to the Gourmet World, it'd be together." He paused and looked down at his knees. It was easier that way. "So I guess that's why he kept me with him."

Komatsu had the need to let all of the bottled feelings out, but instead of letting them consume him, he took it slowly. So slowly. "I don't know when, but at some point I stopped trying to tell Toriko-san about the nightmares." He looked at Sunny with wet eyes. "I-I thought that if I told him then it would bother him. I mean, I'm his _partner_ and I couldn't be honest with him. Does that make me any better?" he voice wobbled and his shoulders shook a little. He didn't know what he wanted Sunny to say—if he wanted him to say anything at all; but Sunny peered down at him and said in a monotone voice.

"Ya know, being around you really changed Toriko." He said bluntly, and even through the sadness Komatsu felt his cheeks warm a little. "The Toriko I grew up with was pretty much the same as the one you first met." Sunny paused to tuck some hair behind his head. "He's never been one to think much of others or beyond his next meal. But fer some reason, he got a lot better after meeting you." That all did. It was something strange about Komatsu that he still didn't quite understand. Maybe it was his flexible nature, or his eagerness to get along with people, but he made people change. He made them _want_ to change. Although he'd never admit it, he'd gotten along better with his brothers since Komatsu had come into the picture than he'd done prior to it. Even _Zebra_ had become someone tolerable.

SO to see Komatsu sitting there before him, looking like he was about to lose it; hurt. It made him angry, and his first thought was to take it out of Toriko. He'd never been the type to learn his lesson without a proper thrashing, and Sunny was angry enough to give it to him. If Coco or Zebra caught wind of Toriko's lackluster job as a partner then things might get disastrous. Sunny continued, although he didn't voice these thoughts.

"He was pretty lost for a while there without you." Komatsu's eyes widened in surprise and seeing that hurt Sunny. It was pretty obvious how much Komatsu cared for Toriko, and the fact that he was here explaining this instead of Toriko left an ugly feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Surprised? Well, it's the truth." He snorted. "Between you bein' gone and the Pres' death, he got kinda strange there." For lack of a better word. He'd gone for _days_ without eating. Sunny had never seen him go without food more than a few_ hours_ prior to that. "But then he got his motivation back and when he set off to get ya' we didn't know when you'd be comin' back." Coco had foretold that it would be a while, but not much more than that.

Meanwhile, Komatsu was hanging onto his every word. How much, if anything, had Toriko told him?

The next words got caught on Sunny's tongue and he said in an even more lifeless voice. "You're important to Toriko, so I'm sure he'll snap outta whatever he's going through soon." That's right. His goal was to motivate Matsu. He couldn't—_wouldn't_—see him break down like that again.

"Or, at least, I probably should say that." Sunny said with a bit of dryness to his voice. "But truthfully, Ma-tsu~," in a sudden movement Sunny pulled Komatsu up and closer so that Komatsu was suddenly straddling him. Komatsu made a small strangled noise but he stopped when he saw Sunny's serious expression. "I have no idea what Toriko is doing either." He said in a very serious tone. The playfulness from a moment ago was gone. "Toriko's always been a guy who does what he wants. Rin's always been tailing after Toriko. Now that she'd got him she won't let him go." Sunny said without beating around the bush. A small lance of pain shot through Komatsu's chest. Of course he always understood that…

Sunny continued. "That doesn't mean that you have to stick with him though." Sunny muttered before quirking the corners of his lips up and leaning closer to Komatsu. "Come on Matsu. Be my partner already~"

Komatsu turned red from the sudden proximity, and could only sputter in surprise. "Su-sunny-san!" His head was spinning from the sudden proximity. Sunny pressed on.

"You know," he sighed. "All of us are serious, right?" Komatsu's confusion must have shown because Sunny elaborated. "Me, Coco, and that gross bastard Zebra—we're all serious about a partnership Komatsu. With you."

Komatsu found himself drawing a breath in. He couldn't even remember the last time Sunny had referred to him as something other than Matsu. The only response that came to mind was, "Coco-san hasn't asked me." He whispered. Despite saying that, he realized that Coco didn't act so differently from Zebra or Sunny.

Sunny snorted. "'Course the poison bastard hasn't. He won't do it if he won't get a sure 'yes'." Sunny huffed.

Although it wasn't that Komatsu didn't understand what Sunny was getting at, but for the longest time he had already thought of his situation as just having an unofficial partnership with the other Kings. He was grateful for anything that would let him work with Coco, or Sunny or Zebra.

Sunny took his silence as outright rejection and sighed. "I'm tellin' ya Matsu. You and yer potential are wasted on a guy like Toriko. It's not beaut'ful." But his grip on Komatsu remained comfortable for them both.

"It's not like I never thought that you or Zebra-san weren't serious." Komatsu said quietly. "I was officially Toriko's partner, but I always felt like I had an extended partnership with you and Coco-san and Zebra-san, and I want to be able to work together with the four of you—even Toriko-san—always made me so happy… so it's not like I'm saying no to you Sunny-san." He said with his heart fluttering a little. He turned his head to the side a little. That almost sounded like a confession, but a confession of what exactly? He didn't really know but it felt natural to say.

"Oh?" Sunny asked as a grin spread across his face. "Are you saying that I'm like your 'honorary' partner then Matsu?" he asked and Komatsu nodded silently. Sunny bent over so that his forehead was against Komatsu's shoulder and Komatsu immediately felt bad because the odd position must have hurt Sunny's back. "Then don't fall apart because of that guy then." Sunny said gruffly. "Not when you've got me here or Coco or even Zebra." His grip on Komatsu tightened slightly. "We-we definitely won't leave you alone. Got it?" He sounded so serious that Komatsu felt guilty for how happy he felt. A few tears leaked from his eyes but there was also a smile on his face. He was happy—so happy. He brought his arms up and wrapped them as far around Sunny's shoulders as he could manage and he laid his head on top of Sunny's. Sitting outside in too thin clothing, the two of them held onto each other.

"Yes—Sunny-san!"

* * *

(i don't know how necessary it'll be to say this, but please don't follow this one shot because it _is_ a one shot. There won't be any other parts)

Hopefully after this I'll be able to write on a more stable schedule (no promises tho~) because writing is so fun, but it always leaves me feeling so burnt out.

(although there were a few ideas that I wish that i could have incorporated more smoothly into the story, including my headcanon that Mansam and Rin took care of Yun over the course of the timeskip-but those are fics for another day)

As always, see you next time~!


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